Producing scrubs in Haiti allows American firms to avoid 29% tariffs on pants, 16% tariffs on tops, and still import the fabric from Asia. But the trade preferences for Haiti known as HOPE/HELP expire in three months and 11 days, and Republicans who control the voting calendar are not reassuring the companies that it will be renewed on time.

SpaceX is pushing back on concerns from GE Healthcare Technologies and the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) regarding space launch use of the 2360-2395 MHz band. In a docket 13-115 opposition Tuesday to reconsideration petitions, SpaceX said launch operators need "robust and rapid access" to that upper S-band spectrum. There can be efficient coordination with wireless medical device facilities without reconsideration of the FCC's upper S-band rules, it said, and AFTRCC is proposing "unnecessary restrictions and complexity" on launch operations. The FCC in late December reallocated the 2360-2395 MHz band on a secondary basis for space launch operations (see 2412310029).

Market demand for ocean carriers from Asia to the U.S. West Coast has picked up as importers rush to beat any additional increases in tariff rates -- including potentially higher U.S. duties on goods from China, according to multiple sources.

The leaders of the House and Senate Communications subcommittees said Thursday they're reviving the bicameral USF revamp working group, which had paused its work on legislative recommendations last year amid uncertainty following the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in the Consumers' Research lawsuit against the program’s funding mechanism (see 2407300053). The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for its review of the case in March (see 2503260061). Working group members had considered melding the FCC’s lapsed affordable connectivity program with USF’s Lifeline program and keeping the latter’s narrower eligibility rules (see 2404170066).

The Bureau of Industry and Security, which is seeking a major budget increase in FY 2026 (see 2505020030), would use the funding boost to add hundreds of employees to enhance its compliance and enforcement capabilities, agency head Jeffrey Kessler said June 12.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., continued Thursday to criticize panel Republicans’ proposed spectrum language for the chamber’s budget reconciliation package (see 2506060029). She argued during a Center for Strategic and International Studies event that the spectrum proposal would leave DOD and aviation stakeholders more vulnerable to China and other malicious actors. House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui of California and 30 other chamber Democrats also urged Senate leaders to jettison language from the reconciliation package that would require governments receiving funding from the $42.5 billion BEAD program to pause enforcing state-level AI rules.

DOJ's Office of the Deputy Attorney General released new guidance for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement after President Donald Trump earlier this year paused FCPA enforcement to come up with new enforcement guidelines (see 2502120051). The memo laid out criteria for future FCPA cases and said prosecutors should prioritize the following four factors: the "total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations," "safeguarding fair opportunities for U.S. companies," advancing U.S. national security and investigations of "serious misconduct."

DOJ's Office of the Deputy Attorney General released new guidance for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement after President Donald Trump earlier this year paused FCPA enforcement to come up with new enforcement guidelines (see 2502120051). The memo laid out criteria for future FCPA cases and said prosecutors should prioritize the following four factors: the "total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations," "safeguarding fair opportunities for U.S. companies," advancing U.S. national security and investigations of "serious misconduct."

The Commerce Department is still waiting to issue its long-awaited proposed rule on routed exports despite making progress on the effort in recent months, said Omari Wooden, assistant division chief for trade outreach and regulations at the Census Bureau.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined Republican opposition to the proposed federal moratorium that would block enforcement of states' AI laws for 10 years (see 2506060019).